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Born: March 2, 1946
Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan
Died: February 4, 1989
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Gilda Radner
From her earliest days doing improv to her later television and film career, Gilda Radner helped set the standard for female comedians. Though she was only 43 when she succumbed to Ovarian cancer, she left behind a group of characters that are still hilarious today, including Baba Wawa, Emily Litella and Roseanne Rosannadanna. After an early marriage to guitarist G.E. Smith, she married actor Gene Wilder, and the couple appeared in two movies before she died. Radner published a book about her struggle with cancer and did much work to educate women about the disease.
What You Don't Know:
• Radner was romantically involved with Bill Murray.
• SNL veteran Mike Myers appeared in a commercial with Radner when he was eight.
• In 1964, Radner went off to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. She planned to major in public speaking and oral interpretation, but college was cut short when she followed her sculptor boyfriend to Toronto, Canada.
• One of Radner's most famous characters, Emily Litella, was based
on her nanny.
• Her first marriage--to guitarist G.E. Smith, who would become
SNL's music director--ended amicably when she met Gene
Wilder on the set of Hanky Panky.
• Radner was the first person hired for the cast of SNL.
• John Belushi convinced her to come to New York and work
for the National Lampoon Stage Show.
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Related Links
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E! True Hollywood Story now available on satellite radio.
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